ROBERT KITSON
Amid all last week's sepia-tinted celebrations of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup victory it was Martin Johnson, their erstwhile captain, who came up with the best definition of top-class sporting excellence.
“Talent is the ability to produce it when you have to,” suggested England’s former manager, neatly summing up the twin challenge awaiting Stuart Lancaster’s players over the next eight days.
The double whammy of Argentina and New Zealand on consecutive Saturdays should offer a clue as to whether England's young side can deliver in the face of rising public expectation. No one disputes this squad's potential but attacking consistency still eludes them. Now would be a good time to demonstrate they really are a group who thrive on pressure rather than shrink from it.
Physical pack
That ambition will apply both collectively and individually against a physical Pumas pack, with the likes of Dylan Hartley, Ben Foden, Billy Twelvetrees, Chris Ashton, David Wilson and Lee Dickson all desperate to improve their chances of starting against the All Blacks and beyond. In such circumstances it can be easy to try too hard but that is precisely the kind of scenario England will have to overcome at the 2015 tournament on home soil.
A surefire way of measuring their progress will be to listen to the Twickenham crowd. With the price of tickets increasingly steep for anyone who resides outside the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, there is an increasingly awkward gap between the spectators’ desire to be entertained and the team’s natural reluctance to risk defeat.
If England can satisfy both those requirements against the Pumas, it will make the forthcoming All Black fixture all the more attractive. Injury has, admittedly, complicated Lancaster's plans, with Ben Youngs the latest to be ruled out because of a bruised hip. Danny Care will deputise on the bench but there is a lingering sense of regret that the exciting Wasps winger Christian Wade has been sidelined with a sore hamstring at the very moment he was preparing to illuminate the dark November gloom.
With Marland Yarde also missing and Ben Foden deputising on the wing, it will be even more vital for the forwards to supply momentum against a team who, for the first 50 minutes at least, will take some knocking over. Hartley, back at hooker ahead of Tom Youngs whose wife gave birth this week, is up for the challenge.
"It sounds like it'll be a really forward-dominated game, which is perfect. I'm looking forward to it. Let's not get away from the fact that winning is the most important thing. I think the Twickenham crowd would rather go home with a win than us playing lovely rugby, scoring four tries but losing," he said.
Attacking options
Even so there will be an inevitable focus on what England manage when they do have the ball.
"All of us were a little bit disappointed with the attacking performance against Australia," conceded their attack coach Mike Catt. "But when you don't get the ability to gain momentum from your set-piece it doesn't work. It's about having patience and when the opportunities come we need to make sure we take them. We'd like it to be nice and dry so we can really move Argentina around."
If, on the other hand, the Pumas scrum gains the upper hand in the first half hour – the new engagement laws appear to suit them and England are relatively unfamiliar with the French referee Pascal Gauzere – it could be another frustrating first half, although the strength of England's bench will surely see them home eventually by a margin of 10-12 points.
That would represent their ninth win in 10 Tests, a statistic to add further spice to New Zealand's impending arrival. Captain Chris Robshaw, of course, will remind his players of the need to take it one victory at a time. But England, third in the IRB world rankings, have reached the point where the occasional big result is not enough. "If we want to make a statement and move on we need to beat another top side in Argentina," warned Hartley.
Guardian Service
